Democrats introduce bill to end gerrymandering

"What we see now is too often a troubling reality in which politicians choose their voters instead of voters picking their elected officials," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., a lead sponsor of legislation she says would create "a more transparent electoral process."(Photo: Carolyn Kaster, AP)

WASHINGTON — A group of Democrats introduced legislation Thursday to overhaul and streamline the way the nation's 435 U.S. House districts are redrawn every decade to reflect population shifts determined by the U.S. Census.

"What we see now is too often a troubling reality in which politicians choose their voters instead of voters picking their elected officials," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., a lead sponsor of legislation she says would create "a more transparent electoral process."

More than half of the states rely on legislatures to redraw district lines, a process swayed heavily by the party in power at the time of reapportionment. The partisan nature of the process has historically led to gerrymandered districts, or those manipulated to give one party a clear electoral advantage.

The cumulative effect over time has resulted in a U.S. House where today only about two dozen of the 435 seats are considered competitive by non-partisan election analysts, and Republicans — who controlled more state legislatures in 2012 when the current maps were approved — are favored to maintain control of the House until the next reapportionment round ahead of the 2022 congressional elections.

The bill, with 19 original co-sponsors, would require each state to establish an independent, multi-party commission tasked with redrawing the state's congressional maps. Commissioners would have to prove they have no conflicts of interest and would be charged with redrawing lines so they comply with voting rights law and be "geographically contiguous and compact."

Some 21 states already rely on redistricting commissions in some form to draw the lines, but this legislation would create one, uniform process nationwide.

With Republicans in control of both chambers of Congress, the Democrats' bill is unlikely to gain momentum unless it can bring on GOP sponsors and support. While gerrymandering has critics in both parties, Republicans are unlikely to support weakening the states' role in the process.